means A long weapon or tool with a sharp pointed head, designed to be thrust or thrown to pierce a target; also, to pierce or strike something with such an object.

from From Old English 'spere,' a word with deep Germanic roots — kin to Dutch 'speer' and German 'Speer.' Beyond that it likely traces to a Proto-Indo-European source meaning 'spar' or 'pole,' the same family that gives us the 'spar' of a ship's rigging — a reminder that before it was a weapon, it was simply a good long shaft of wood. The verb sense, to spear something, followed naturally from the noun.